Cullman Regional and more than 40 local physicians recently created a partnership program aimed to improve the quality of care provided to the patients and communities in the region. The partnership aptly named the Cullman Regional Hospital Quality and Efficiency Network, LLC; allows these groups to collaborate both clinically and operationally on new and innovative ways to provide value to patients and the community.

“We want to enhance both the patient and provider experience at Cullman Regional,” Cullman Regional CEO James Clements said.

The overall goal of the network is to improve the quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction with services delivered within the hospital by enhancing communication and coordination. This will be achieved through several key initiatives created by the governing board of physician managers and their respective committee. The physician governing board of managers includes Executive Committee Chair Christopher Coccia, DO; Quality Committee Chair Joseph Jowers, MD; Finance Committee Chair, Ben Gomez, MD; Communication Committee Chair Adam Harrison, DO; and IT Committee Chair Jim Hoover, MD. Some of the initial initiatives identified include monitoring clinically relevant metrics, tracking evidence-based guidelines across specialties and providing education materials and courses to medical staff stakeholders.

“The healthcare industry is going through a lot of change and Cullman Regional, along with their physician partners, is willing to embrace the change by improving the care provided at all our facilities and by our physicians,” Clements said. “As healthcare moves to a value-based system, our value will be derived from collaborative improvement in the quality and efficiency of our providers and health system.”

Value-Based healthcare is a healthcare delivery model in which providers including health systems and physicians are rewarded for helping patients improve their health, reduce the effects and incidence of chronic disease and live healthier lives in an evidence-based way.

“The value-based healthcare delivery model works to make providers more efficient, creates a healthier society, while also reducing overall healthcare spending,” Network Executive Committee Chair Christopher Coccia, DO said. “The Hospital Quality and Efficiency Network helps us to all work toward the same goals together which will subsequently make us all more successful.”

In the photograph are members of the Cullman Regional Hospital Quality & Efficiency Network, LLC governing board of managers:

Cullman Regional is a fully accredited 145-bed medical center which covers a five-county service area of 175,000 residents and has been a part of the community since 1939. Cullman Regional is dedicated to improving the health of the community by providing excellent healthcare resources in order to help the communities live the healthiest lives possible. For more information on the services provided by Cullman Regional, visit www.cullmanregional.com.